Tower crane



F. J. STRNAD 3,153,486

Oct. 20, 1964 TOWER CRANE 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 13, 1961 F. J.STRNAD TOWER CRANE Oct. 20, 1964 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 13, 1961Oct. 20, 1964 F. J. STRNAD TOWER CRANE Filed June 13, 1961 '7Sheets-Sheet 3 F. J. STRNAD Oct. 20, 1964 TOWER CRANE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed June 13, 1961 F. J. STRNAD Oct. 20, 1964 TOWER CRANE 7Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 13, 1961 Oct. 20, 1964 F. J. STRNAD 3,153,486

TOWER CRANE Filed June 13, 1961 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 cam/Era? F. J. STRNADOct. 20, 1964 TOWER CRANE '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed June 15, 1961 UnitedStates Patent 3,153,486 TOWER CRANE Frank .l. Strnad, Cedar Rapids,Iowa, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Link-Belt Company, acorporation of Illinois Filed June 13, 1961, Ser. No. 116,754 16 Claims.(ill. 214-89) This invention relates generally to the art of towercranes and to components particularly adapted for use with tower cranes.In its more specific aspects, the invention is directed to tower cranesof the type that are mounted within a vertical shaft of a buildingduring its construction and elevated as successive floors of thebuilding are completed with the crane being useable for hoisting anddistributing building materials in conjunction with construction of thebuilding. Although hereinafter in describing the operations andfunctions of the novel tower crane and features thereof, reference ismade to the construction of a building, it is to be understood that thisreference is only by way of example of an application or use of theinvention and that the invention is applicable generally to the erectionof various structures including buildings, dams, bridges, multipleoverpasses, etc. and particularly structures of poured concreteconstruction.

In the construction of large modern commercial buildings to be used forofices, apartments, hotels, etc., the building height and substantialareas of each of the building floors present special problems inmaintaining construction costs within reasonable bounds as compared withthe cost of construction of smaller buildings having only a few floorswith each floor having only a limited area. In such smaller buildings,it is possible to employ conven tional crawler or truck mounted craneswhich can hoist the building materials from the ground and deposit themat or near the point of use onthe building. Even temporary elevators maybe used and the concrete carted by use of buggies to pour the limitedarea of each building floor.

In taller buildings having many stories and in buildings having asubstantial floor area for each floor, it is neces sary to resort to theuse of temporary elevators or other vertical elevating means to carrythe building materials such as concrete to the upper levels where it isto be used. This mode of constructing large buildings is costly from thestandpoint of both the labor and the equipment required. The concretemust be transported from the temporary elevator over the wide expanse offloor area, requiring numerous wheelbarrows or buggies and operatorstherefor together with the. construction of board runways extending fromthe location of the elevator to the various points 'on the floor areawhere the concrete is to be poured. With this mode of construction, thelabor costs include operators for the wheelbarrows or buggies as well asthe carpenters required to construct the board runways. Further, thisapproach for handling the substantial quantities of concrete which mustbe poured in the construction of each fioor' of the building isextremely slow.

Tower cranes have heretofore been proposed for use in the constructionof large buildings both of the type of tower crane which is mounted on atrack or other prepared traveling surface on the ground adjacent thebuilding being constructed and of the type which is elevated as erection3,153,435 Patented Get. 20, 1964 ice of the building progresses. Thetrack mounted type tower crane is .generallylimited in its practicaloperating height to the same extent as are the long boom crawler ortruck mounted cranes. Also, due to its basic design, its liftingcapacity for servicing areas on the floors of the building beingconstructed which are disposed at substantial distances from the toweris limited. Further with this type of tower crane, the necessity forhaving a track system or other prepared traveling surface is undesirablein congested areas where quite frequently larger modern buildings are tobe constructed.

The climbing type tower cranes heretofore proposed have embodiedstructural features which proved to be disadvantageous in their use forbuilding construction. By their design, they have proved slow andlimited in productive capacity. The concentrated weight of the loadedbucket at longer radius of concrete placement imposes high loading onthe building under construction, and in use imparts undesirable lateralforces through the crane tower against the recently poured concretefloors through which the tower crane extends. Counterbalancing onlypartially offsets the lateral forces and adds to the total weight of thecrane to be supported by the building under construction. To keep theseforces on the building within acceptable limits, lifting capacities ofthis type crane are usually low, resulting in low rate of concreteplacement.

Having in mind the above discussed problems and drawbacks in priorapproaches employed in the construction of various structures such aslarge, multi-story buildings, it is a principal object of the instantinvention to provide an improved tower crane construction elevatableWithin a shaft of a building or other structure being constructed andhaving substantial load handling capacity for hoisting and distributingbuilding materials in erection of the structure without impartingexcessive vertical or lateral stresses to the portions of the structurethat support the crane.

. Another important object of the instant invention is to provide atower crane and components particularly adapted therefor capable ofrapidly hoisting and distributing large volumes of concrete tosubstantial radial distances from the crane tower and to a substantialportion of the area encircling the tower with a minimum of load stressesbeing applied to the building or other structure being constructed andwithout interference with the area to be poured.

A further object of the invention resides in providing a tower craneconstructed to elevate a concentrated load of concrete at a relativelyshort radial distance from the crane tower and distribute this concreteby conveying it in a relatively light but steady flow to extended radialdistances from the tower thereby avoiding in operations concentratedloadingat extended radial distances from the tower.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a tower craneeleva'table within :a shaft of a building being constructed wherein asubstantial portion of the weight of the crane is removed from the cranetower during the tower elevating operation and wherein thehoisting-means for the building materials is also employed to carry outthe tower elevating operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tower wherein thehoisting machinery used in hoisting the building materials in buildingconstruction is also useable in connection with assembly and disassemblyof the crane components.

A further object is to provide an articulated distributing conveyor boomuseable with a tower crane to be swingable in a horizontal plane withthe outer boom section being guy suspended and having means forautomatically tensioning the suspending guys to maintain the outer boomsection in a level condition irrespective of the articulated position ofthe outer section of the boom relative to the inner boom section.

The above and other objects and novel features of the instant inventionwill be readily apparent from the follow, ing description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expresslyunderstood that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and arenot intended to define the limits of the invention but rather to merelyillustrate preferred embodiments and structures incorporating featuresof the instant invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification andwherein like reference numerals are employed to define like parts:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational View showing the tower crane of theinstant invention operatively mounted within a shaft of a building beingerected with only a portion of the distributing boom thereof beingillustrated.

'FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view showing the distributing boom, anda portion of its mounting on the structure illustrated on FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic plan View illustrating the reeving of thesuspending and operating cables for the telescoping outer section of thedistributing boom of FIGURE'Z.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view showing the mounting relation of thematerial discharging plow associated with the belt conveyor of the innersection of the telescop ing distributing boom of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view through the telescoping distributing boomshowing the mounting relationship be tween the telescoping sections ofthe boom of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged side elevational view of the lower end of thecrane tower.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken on line 77 of FIGURE 6 showing themounting relation between the tower and the platform carrying thedistributing boom, hoist machinery, etc. 1 FIGURE 8 is a frontelevational view showing the upper end of the crane tower in relation tothe platform carrying the hoist machinery with the auxiliary booms morespecifically illustrated.

FIGURE 9 is a top plan view showing the relation of the guying for thetower and hoist jib thereon.

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view with portions shown diagrammatically andillustrating an alternative form of hoist trolley jibs on a tower crane.

FIGURE 11 is a perspective view diagrammatically illustrating anarticulated distributing boom for use in place of the telescoping typedistributing boom of FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 12 is a schematic view illustrating the control system employedwith the articulated distributing boom of FIGURE 11 to obtain propertensioning of the guys for the outer section of the boom to maintain itlevel during use, and

. FIGURE 13 is a diagrammatic plan view showing the manner in which thearticulated distributing boom is employed in distributing material toessentially all points on the area of a building floor being poured withconcrete.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the tower crane of this invention generallydesignated by the reference numeral 10, is shown mounted in operatingposition within a vertical open shaft S of a building B beingconstructed.

The successive floors of the building through which the crane towerextends are designated a, b, c and a, while the building face wall eextends upwardly along the outer edges of these floors. The diagrammaticrepresentation of the building B and the portions thereof designated byreference characters a through e are only illustrated to facilitatedescribing the functioning and use of the tower crane It) in conjunctionwith construction of a building of poured concrete construction.

The shaft S within building B may be provided by the elevator shaft orstairwell contemplated as part of the final design of the particularbuilding being erected. Alternatively, a special open shaft may beformed by vertically aligned openings in the successive floors of thebuilding with these openings subsequently being closed with concreteafter the tower crane has been elevated within the shaft to be free ofor above the openings. As will appear from the description hereinafter,an important factor of the functioning of the tower crane of thisinvention is its ability to be used not only in hoisting anddistributing the concrete for the successive building floors but alsothe concrete necessary to close the openings below the crane tower andthrough which the crane has been elevated.

The structural design of the building, particularly where the towercrane is elevated through an elevator shaft or stairwell, may call forsufficient load supporting columns or walls between adjacent floors toprovide the necessary strength to the floors to support the load of thetower crane. Where aligned openings forming the shaft are speciallyprovided for use by the tower crane appropriate bracing 1 may beemployed adjacent the openings and extending between adjoining floors todistribute the load of the tower crane among several floors. This can beparticularly important with respect to the upper floors which have onlyrecently been formed from poured concrete.

The tower crane 10 embodies a skeleton tower 12 which is preferablyformed in sections that are bolted together in assembling the tower foruse in erection of a building. The skeletonized formation of thesections of tower 12 preferably provides an essentially open passagewayextending longitudinally of the tower. This passageway is important inconnection with both the tower elevating operation and in hoisting anddistributing concrete to close the floor openings forming the shaft inthe building below the tower when the shaft is not to remain forultimate use as a stairwell or elevator shaft.

As shown in FIGURES l and 6, the weight of the tower 12 and componentscarried thereby is supported adjacent the lower end of the tower bymeans of beams 15 which are shown resting on the upper surface of floora and which extend across the shaft S through open ended pockets 16secured on the tower 12. A pair of beams 15 and corresponding pockets 16may be provided extending along the opposite sides of tower 12immediately inwardly of the vertical corner members of the tower leavinga vertical passage between the pockets 16.

Each beam 15 is secured to its pocket 16 by a load carrying pin 17 andas will be noted, the vertical height of each pocket is greater than theheight of the beam 15 which passes therethrough. By pin connecting thebeam 15 and its pocket 16, any lateral swaying movements of the tower 12will not concentrate the tower cranes weight on one or the other ends ofthe beams 15 and the portion of the building floor on which the beamends rest.

Although a pin connection has been illustrated between the beams 15 andtheir pockets 16, it will be appreciated that other means may beemployed to interconnect the load supporting beams 15 with the tower 12to insure that concentrated loading on portions of the floor supportingthe tower Will not occur in the event of lateral swaying of the towerduring erection or in use.

In the erection of a building such as the poured concrete building B, assuccessive floors are formed by pouring the concrete, the tower craneis-elevated within the building shaft to be operable in conjunction withpouring the next floor. In some instances, it may not be necessary toelevate the crane in conjunction with the pouring of each floor wherethe height of the crane in conjunction with the pouring of more than onefloor may be carried out at one supported position of the crane. In anyevent the crane is elevated at intervals as construction of the buildingprogresses.

With further reference to FIGURES 1 and 6, the elevating mechanism usedin raising the tower 12 may be described. This mechanism employs a pairof beams 2% which rest on the surface of the floor c above the floor awhich supports beams 15 that carry the tower crane weight in use.Cable-s21 are connected to the beams 29 and extend downwardly along theouter sides of the tower 12 engaging over sheaves 22 rotatably mountedon the opposite sides of the lower end of the tower. The cables 21extend upwardly within the tower 12 and pass over a pulley 23. Pulley 23is suspended from a block 24 which is reeved with a cable 25 extendingover a pulley 25 rotatably mounted on the tower 12. One end of cable 25is fixed to block 24 with the other end of the cable being provided witha suitable connector 27 to be engaged in elevating the tower. As showninFIGURE 1, the hook may be conveniently retained in readiness for theelevating operation by being engaged with a member of the skeleton tower12. In FIGURE 6, the connector 27 is shown engaged with the lifting hook.of the crane hoist means to elevate the tower as will be describedsubsequently.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 9, the upper end of tower 12 iswidened to provide a portal opening 30 extending therethrough as shownmost clearly on FIGURE 8. A trolley hoist jib is mounted on tower 12. atthe upperend of portalopening 3t extending transversely and horizontallythrough such opening. The jib 35 is connected by a pin 36 to members 37secured to a cross-member 38 of tower 12.

The jib 35 is guyed in its horizontal position relative to tower 12 byguys 40 connected to points spaced along the forward extended length ofjib 35. These guys extend upwardly and outwardly from the jib toward theupper front corners of tower 12. They passover sheaves 41 which areinturn connected to cables 4-2 which are threaded over pulleys43rotatably mounted at the .topof tower 12. Cables 42 extend;downwardly.through the tower to a hand winch 44 by means of which they may be drawninto appropriately tensionthe guys 40. The opposite end of jib 35 hasguys 45 connected thereto which extend over pulleys 46 rotatably mountedon the top rear corners of tower 12. Guys 45 extend downwardly throughthe tower to a hand winch 47 whereby they may be suitably tightened inobtaining proper horizontal positioningof the jib relative to tower 12.The various guys for jib 35 may be secured directly to tower 12 ifdesired. However, the pin connection of the jib to the tower at 36together with the winches 44 and .47 is advantageous in assembling anddisassembling the jib and tower-as will be described .subsequently.

The jib 35 providesa tram rail 5% of I cross-section which supports atrolley by the wheels 56of the trolley rolling within the channelsformed on the opposite sides of the I cross-section of the rail 50. Thetrolley 55 carries pulleys 57 and 55 from which a pulley block'dilmounting a pulley 61 and having a lift hook 62 is suspended on a cable65. The trolley 55 and block are rigged by cable 65 being connected atone end to a bracket 66 fixed on the rear end of jib 35, extending overpulley 58 on trolley 55, around pulley 61 on block 60, over pulley 57 ontrolley 55 and thence over a pulleylS'I mounted at the. front end of jib35. From pulley 67 cable 65 extends inwardly along the upper surface ofjib 35 and around a 6. sheave68 mounted on the top of jib 35. The cablepasses upwardly over pulley 69 mounted adjacent the top of tower 12 andthence downwardly to the hoist machinery 70. Y

The hoist machinery 76 is of generally conventional constructionincluding a cable drum 71 on which the cable 65 is wound. The drum 71 isrotatably mounted on suitable supports 72 and is driven by means ofgearing .73 connected through a speed reducer 74 to motor 75. Appropriate brake means (not shown) is, of course, provided on the hoistmachinery 74) to facilitate controlof the raising and lowering of block6%.

The lift hook 62 on block 69 is shown on FIGURES l and 8 engaged with aconcrete supply bucket 30 of well known construction. Generally, thesebuckets for handling concrete are provided with an open top to permitintroducing the concrete into the bucket while disposed on'the ground orpositioned to receive concrete from concrete mixing apparatus and areprovided with a bot tom opening valve such that the contents .of thebucket may be released as desired.

It will be readily appreciated that with the cable 65 reeved asdescribed, operation of the hoist machinery 70 to wind in cable 65 willcause the bucket to be lifted. Thus the bucket 80 with concrete thereinmaybe raised from a point beneath the outer end of jib 35 in the path asshown in phantom on FIGURE 1. Once appropriately elevated the trolley5'5 may be shifted along tram rail 5!) to the position shown in solidlines on FIGURE 1. During this shifting of trolley 55 if the windingdrum 71 is held stationary the cable 65 passes along pulleys 57, 58 and61 without altering the height of bucket 84 The shifting movements oftrolley 55 are controlled by operationof a cable 85 which is connectedat its opposite ends to the end of trolley 55 and .is threaded oversheave 86 mounted on the rear end of jib 35 and sheave 87 mountedadjacent the front end of jib 35. Cable 85 is woundaround drum 88 whichis connected to be driven by a reversible motor 99. .When the trolley 55is to be shifted along tram rail 5n, the motor 90 is energized tooperate winding drum S8 in the proper direction to take in cable 85 fromone end of trolley 55 and play out the cable to the other end of trolley55.

Reference may be made at this point to the guying employed in supportinglateral deflecting loads which may be imparted to the tower crane inuse. This vguying performs the important function in the inventionherein of absorbing these loads thus voiding their beingv applied to thebuilding floors through which the tower 12 extends. Should excessivelateral deflecting loads be applied through the tower to the buildingfloors and particularly those floors only recently constructed, seriousstructural damage to these floors might result.

The rear face of tower 12 adjacent its upper end is provided with aframe 92 which provides a mounting 93 for guys 94 and guying forthe'distributing boom as described later. Guys 94 extend downwardly andaway from each other to be appropriately secured to stationary points onthe building or on the ground adjacent the building. Take up means, suchas hand winches (not shown), may be provided either on the ground or onthe tower crane to tighten guys 94 as necessary and play out guy cablelength if needed when the crane is elevated.

Guys 95 extend downwardly and away from each other to be fixed toappropriate points on the ground adjacent the face wall of the building.These guys extend across a pulley 96 mounted on the front end of jib 35and thence inwardly across a pulley 97 mounted wit-hinthe tower 12 andthen downwardly to a hand winch 98 mounted within the tower adjacenthand winches 44 and .47 which are used to tighten the guying for the jib35.

Struts 99 (see FIGURE 13) may be provided adjacent the stationaryconnection ends of guys 94 if desired to raise the guys so that thedistributingboom may swing beneath the guys without interference withthe guys.

Hoist machinery 76 is carried by the tower 12 by being mounted on aplatform 1110 which is provided with an opening 101 through which thetower 12 is movable. As shown more clearly in FIGURE 7, guide means inthe form of rollers 102 mounted at the corners of opening, 101 areprovided to facilitate relative movement between the platform and tower.Two sets of such rollers are shown, one set being disposed at the uppersurface of platform 100 and the other set being mounted adjacent thebase of platform 100. These rollers 102 are positioned to rotatablyengage with the corner angle elements of tower 12.

The platform 1% is also provided with a frame 185 which extendsdownwardly from the base of the platform beneath the opening 101. Thisframe 105 may be formed with suitable angle members to enclose thecorner angles of the tower 12 and insure effective guiding andpositioning of platform 1% in shaft opening S during the tower elevatingoperation, at which time the platform 161i is resting on the uppercompleted floor such as shown in FIGURE 6.

When raised to its working position as shown in FIG- URES 1 and 8, theplatform 100 is appropriateiy secured to tower 12 to be retained at suchworking position during operations of the tower crane in conjunctionwith building construction. Any suitable means may be provided to retainthe platform in this working position on the tower 12. Beam members 1%are illustrated as one suitable retaining means, these members beingextended across the tower beneath the platform ltit). The beam membersrest on structural elements of the tower and transmit the weight of theplatform to the tower. Appropriate clamps, bolts, or other retainingmeans may be employed to perform this function of afilxing the platform1.00 to tower 12 in its working position.

The platform 1% carrying hoist machinery '76 may be formed of a size toprovide a work station for the tower crane operator. In this connection,appropriate controls for effecting the various operations of the towercrane may be conveniently grouped to be accessible to the operator onplatform 1% and, if desired, an operators cab may be provided on thisplatform to enclose the controls and form the centerof operation fromwhich the crane is controlled. Remote, portable controls may of coursebe provided for improved visibility to the ground.

To augment the functional capabilities of the tower crane and cooperatewith the other components of such crane as described herein, auxiliaryderricking booms may be provided mounted on the platform 1%.

These booms may be most effectively used to hoist from the ground leveland deposit at the floor level being worked upon various buildingmaterials such as reinforcing steel rods, materials for the concreteforms, etc., necessary in conjunction with construction of the pouredconcrete floors by use of the concrete hoisted in bucket 80.

As illustrated more clearly in FIGURES 1, 8 and 9, a pair of auxiliarybooms 111) are provided, mounted on platform 1% by means of auxiliaryboom platform extensions 111 projecting outwardly from the oppositesides of the main platform 1%. Each boom 111i is pivotally mounted on acolumn 112 to be swingable in a vertical plane with the column mountedon platform extension 111 to be rotatable about a vertical axis. Theauxiliary boom platform extension 111 is also shown provided with amotor 113 which is appropriately connected to effect rotation of column112 for swinging the auxiliary boom 110.

A material lifting cable 114 is provided on the auxiliary boom with alift hook 115 connected to the cable which cable is Wound onto a powerwinch 116 mounted on platform extension 111. A boom lufiing winch 117 ismounted on platform 1% to take in the luffing cable 118 which passesover a pulley 119 carried on a support 120 8 mounted on tower 12. Theend of lumng cable 118 is appropriately connected to the outer end ofboom 111) to raise and lower the boom in a vertical plane if desired.

The platform 1% also mounts a distributing boom 125 which functions incooperation with the trolley hoist jib 35 to distribute the concrete ashoisted from the ground level by means of the bucket 86. Theconstruction of distributing boom 125 and its mounting on platform 106)are best shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. Thus, the boom is connected at itsinner end to rotating support 126 so as to be swingable in a generallyhorizontal plane relative to the vertical rotation axis of support 126.The support 126, to which the boom 125 is connected, is shown providedwith gear teeth 127 which are engaged by a pinion 128. Pinion 128 isdriven through a worm gear speed reducer 129 by a reversible motor 130.

Thus depending upon the direction of rotation of motor 13% the pinion128 will effect rotation of support 125 to swing the distributing boom125 connected thereto. By appropriate energization of motor 139 thedistributing boom 125 may be swung to extend in the desired radialdirection from the tower incidental to distribution of the concrete toparticular points spaced radially and circumferentially of the tower.

In the structure as illustrated, the inner end of boom 125 has a hopper135 mounted thereon with the axis of the hopper generally aligned withthe vertical rotation axis of support 126. This hopper is thuspositioned to receive and retaain a supply of concrete as dischargedthereinto from the bucket which is hoisted and shifted on trolley 55. Itwill be understood that the hopper 135 may be directly mounted onplatform 1% if desired as long as the discharge outlet from the hopperis disposed such that concrete may pass onto the distributing boom andbe conveyed to the desired point for pouring.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES l and 2, the distributing boomincludes telescoping inner and outer conveyor sections 136 and 137,respectively. The inner section 136 is provided with a belt conveyor 138extending therealong and suitably driven by a motor 139. The outersection 137 is provided with a belt conveyor 140 extending therealongand driven by a reversible motor 141. With conveyors 138 and 140operating, concrete discharged from hopper passes onto belt conveyor 138and is conveyed outwardly along the inner boom section 136 to bedischarged onto the conveying surface of belt conveyor 14% on section137.

The outer boom section 137 is provided at its ends with chutes 142 and143. Each of these chutes is rotatably mounted on a bracket 144 andsuspended from a jib 145 by tackle 146 to be adjustable as desired inswinging, raising and lowering of the respective chutes to feed theconcrete to the desired precise point on the building floor to bepoured. The chute 142 is mounted to receive concrete discharged from theouter end of conveyor on section 137 while chute 143 is mounted toreceive concrete passing from the inner end of conveyor 140.

It will be recognized that depending upon the direction of rotation ofmotor 141 the belt conveyor 140 will be driven in one direction or theother and accordingly the concrete will be discharged from one or theother ends of conveyor 140 into either chute 142 or chute 143. Thereversibility of motor 14-1 thus adds flexibility to the functioning ofdistributing boom 125 in that points beneath the inner boom section 136may be poured with concrete through chute 143 or when desired pointsdisposed adjacent the outer end of section 137 may be poured using chute142.

The sections 136 and 137 of the distributing boom as fully shown inFIGURE 2 are telescopingly interconnected such that the length of theboom may be adjusted in accordance with the radial distance to which theconcrete is to be conveyed for pouring. The telescoping interconnectionis illustrated in section on FIGURE 5 in addition to the showing onFIGURE 2.

The inner boom section 136 is provided with parallel outwardly facingchannels 154 which extend along the lower outside edges of the section.A trolley 151 provided with wheels 152 is provided at each side ofsection 136 with the wheels rollingly engaged with one channel 150.These trolleys are connected to struts 153 by means of pins 154. Thestruts 153 extend upwardly on opposite sides of the boom section 135 tosupport the guying for outer section 137 as will be describedhereinafter with the lower ends of the struts being secured to the sidesof the outer boom section 137.

In addition to the trolleys 151, members 155 are fixed to the sides ofsection 137 outwardly of struts 153 and extending upwardly on theoutsides of channels 150 on section 136. Each member 155 rotatablymounts at its upper end,.a roller 156 which engages with the web of theadjacent channel 150. Thus, the rollers 156 on opposite sides of theboom sections assist in maintaining these sections in longitudinalalignment.

It may be noted that in connection with the description hereinabove, thesectional view shown in FIGURE illu trates on its left side the relationof roller 156 as it cooperates with the adjacent channel 150, showingthat this roller is positioned outwardly of the trolley carrying wheels152. The right side of FIGURE 5 shows in section, with the roller 156and its mounting member 155 cut away, the connection of one trolley 151with its strut 153.

In order to avoid any interference with the working area or areas ofrecently poured concrete beneath the distributing boom, the boom issuspended from tower 12 with no supports extending down to the buildingfloor being constructed. The frame 92 on tower 12 swingably mounts asheave 160 supporting a guy 161 which extends outwardly and downwardlyand is connected with boom section 136. The swing axis of sheave 160 isvertically aligned with the rotation axis of support 126 such that asthe boom 125 swings, the guy 16,1 willmaintain the boom section 136horizontal.

One end of guy 161 isconnected to a bail member 162 which bridges thebelt conveyor 133 and is connected to the framework of boom section 136at 163,. The other end of guy 161, after passing over sheave 160, iswound onto a hand winch 164%. Thus, the tension on guy 161 may beappropriately adjusted by means of winch 164.

The outer section 137 of the distributing boom is suspended by guys 165that extend from the opposite sides of the outermost end of section 137to the upper end of the respective struts 153. Additional guys 166extend from the opposite sides of the section at points intermediate thelength of section 137 to the upper ends of the respective struts 153.

The inner end of section7136. is, provided, with stanchions 168extending upwardly from each side of the boom section with a pulley 169rotatably mounted at the upper end of each stanchion. A cable17t) oneach side of theboom section 136 extends from strut 153-over pulley 169and downwardly to a take-up drum 171. As shown more clearly in thediagrammatic View of FIGURE 3, the take up drums 171 on opposite sidesof the boom section 136 are connected to, be simultaneously driven by amotor 172 through a speed reducer 173.

To drive the outer section 137 inwardly and outwardly in telescoping thedistributing boom 125, a cable 175 is provided at each side of the boomsection 136. The cable on each side has one end connected to the trolley151 and extends outwardly over a pulley 17 6 rotatably mounted on theouter end of section 136 and thence back to a Willdn ing drum 177 wherethe cable passes around the. drum and back to the same trolley 151.

Rotation of the winding drums 177 will cause the cables 175 on theopposite sides of the conveyor section 136 to move the trolleys 151 inor out along the channels 150. of section 136 depending upon thedirection of rotation of drums 177. Trolleys 151 being connected to thestruts 153 on boom section 137 by means of pins 134 will thus extend orretract the boom section 137. The Winding drums 177 are appropriatelycoupled to be driven together with the drums 171, such coupling beingillustrated in the form of chain drive 178, drivingly interconnectingthe pairs of drums on the opposite sides of the distributing boom.

With the intercoupling of the winding drums to be simultaneously drivenby energization of motor 172, it will be appreciated that as the drums177 turn, drawing in on the ends of cables 175 that are directlyconnected to the trolleys 151, the boom section 137 will be drawn in toshorten the overall length of boom 125. At the same time, the drums 171will take up on cables to continuously maintain tension on these cableswhich, support the struts 153. and, guys 165 and- 16.6 connected. to thestruts. It follows that upon. reverse driving of motor 172, the turningof drums. 177 will pull on cables around pulleys 176 to extend the boomsection 137 while, at the same time, the drums 171 will play out cables170. in accordance with the rate of extension of section 137. In thismanner, the outer section 137 will be maintained horizontal as the boomlength is shortened or extended.

It will be appreciated that the distributing boom may take a number ofdifierent forms. As described above in connection with the. form ofdistributing boom shown in FIGURES l and 2, the boom has a pair oftelescoping sections. If desired, the boom might be constructed withmore than two telescoping sections. As important to the ability of thetower crane ofthe instant invention to distribute concrete atsubstantial radial distances from the crane tower, the use of a conveyorwhich distributes the weight of the concrete material along its lengthis important. Thus, the distributing boom does not involve high loadconcentrations as are encountered where a quantity of material istransported as a unit load to the outer end of a boom for pouring.

In some instances, the telescoping of a boom such as describedhereinabove may be inconvenient or not desired at a particular time inthe pouring of a floor under construction. Also particularly in smallerbuildings, it may be unnecessary to provide the length available with atelescoping type conveyor. conveyor section 137 may be dispensed withand a single section such as 136 used alone. In connection with its use,a chute such as 142 or 153 will be rotatably mounted beneath the outerend of conveyor 138 to assist in guiding and distributing the concretefrom the end of the distributing boom.

With such a single length distributing boom, areas inwardly of the endof the boom present a problem for pouring concrete. To remove theconcrete and pour it at areas between the tower and the end of thesingle length conveyor distributing boom, a removable discharge plow 180may be employed appropriately mounted in association. with the beltconveyor 138 as shown on FIG- URES 2 and 4.

The plow 180 is mounted on the structure of boom section 136 by means ofrollers 181 engaged with channels disposed along the sides of the beltconveyor 138 beneath the belt supporting rollers. The plow 180 includesa diverter plate 182 extending diagonally across the top ofthe conveyorbelt and mounted as by means of pin 183 on the frame of the plow whichis supported on rollers 181. A chute 184 receives the material which isdiverted from the upper surface of belt- 138 by plate 132 and guides itto the desired. point of discharge beneath the distributing boom.

In operation, the plow raises the conveyor beltto pass immediatelybeneath the diverter plate 182. Thence, as the belt movesv outwardly,the material will be carried against the diverter plate and diverted tochute 184. The plow 130 may be moved along the length of boom sec-- tion136 to be positioned. at the desired point below which the concretefloor is to be poured. This approach thus In such situation, the outer 11 provides a convenient method for discharging concrete to areas beingpoured that are between the tower 12 and the outer end of the section136 particularly where an outer section 137 with a reversible beltconveyor thereon is not provided in the assembly. This plow might alsobe useful in combination with the telescoping distributing boom 125 onbuildings where some obstruction limits extending the outer conveyorsection 137.

A further modified form of distributing boom which may be employed inplace of the telescoping boom described hereinabove is illustrated onFIGURES 11 and 12 in the form of an articulated distributing boom. Suchan articulated type distributing boom has particular advantages byachieving maximum fiexibility for the tower crane in effectingdistribution of concrete to all points surrounding the location of thecrane tower. FIGURE 13 illustrates the manner in which an articulateddistributing boom may be employed to distribute concrete not only toareas remote from the crane tower but also to areas disposed between thetower and the face wall of the building, across which the concrete ishoisted on jib 35.

The articulated distributing boom as shown on FIG- URE 11 embodies aninner conveyor section 190 which is to be mounted in place of boom 125on the rotatable support 126 carried by the platform 101 Section 191)has a belt conveyor 191 which functions in the same manner as beltconveyor 138 in carrying the concrete outwardly to the end of theconveyor section. Appropriate guys 192 extend from the outer end ofsection 191 upwardly to the frame 92 on tower 12 to support the conveyorsection similar to the manner in which boom 136 is supported asdescribed hereinabove.

A second conveyor section 195 is pivotally connected to the outer end ofsection 190. Section 195 has a belt conveyor 196 which conveys theconcrete as received from the end of the belt conveyor 191 outwardly tothe end of section 195. A chute 197 similar to the chutes 142 and 143 isrotatably mounted beneath the end of section 195 to enable accurateplacement of the concrete in the pouring operation.

The pivotal connection between the ends of sections 190 and 195 permitsthe distributing boom to be articulated such as to the position shown inFIGURE 11 where the two boom sections extend at substantially rightangles to each other. Several other positions of articulation that thetwo boom sections may assume are illustrated in the plan view of FIGURE13.

To control articulating movements of the section 195 relative to section199, a frame 198 is provided on section 195. This frame bridges the beltconveyor 196 and has an operating rod 199 pivotally connected thereto.The opposite end of rod 199 is connected to a block 200 slidably guidedin a track 291 extending along the side of boom section 191). Thesliding movements of block 2110 in track 201 may be suitably controlledby means of a cable, rack or chain (not shown) connected to the blockand operable longitudinally of boom section 190 to move the block 200 inor out along the section depending upon the direction of movement of thecable, rack or chain.

It will be appreciated that movements of block 200 in an outwarddirection relative to boom section 190 will, through rod 199, cause boomsection 195 to swing toward a straight line relation to boom section190. A second block 299 and track 291 with the block connected to anoperating cable, rack or chain will preferably be provided on the otherside of boom section 195 so that should it be desired to swing the boomsection 195 to the opposite side of boom section 190, the rod 199 may bedisconnected from one operating block 200 and connected to the operatingblock Ztit) on the opposite side of section 190.

As an important feature of the instant invention, the outer section 195of the articulated distributing boom is V 12 guy suspended with meansbeing provided to insure that the suspending guying for the outersection is adjusted in length to maintain section 195 horizontalirrespective of its position of articulation relative to the innersection.

Thus a guy 21%) is connected to bracket 198 and extends upwardly acrossa pulley 211 which may be suitably mounted on section 190 or on tower 12and thence downwardly to a power driven winding drum 212. As shown inFIGURE 12, the boom section 190 and boom section 195 are at right anglesto each other. A limit switch 215 is mounted between the pivotalconnection of sections 191 and 195 at the inner end of section 195. Asecond limit switch 216 is mounted on the opposite side of the pivotalconnection with the two switches being disposed generally on thelongitudinal axis of boom section 195. The winding drum 212 is driven bya suitable reversible electric motor 217 with limit switch 215 beingconnected in the control circuit for such motor to operate the motor inone direction when it is actuated and switch 216 connected in the motorcontrol circuit to operate the motor in the opposite direction whenswitch 216 is actuated.

When block 299 on boom section 1911 moves outwardly tending to extendthe length of the boom by swinging section 195 toward a straight-linerelation to section 191), the boom section 195 will tend to rise at itsouter end if guy 210 remains of a fixed length. This action affects thepivotal connection between the boom section resulting in actuatingswitch 216. Thereupon motor 217 will be started to unwind cable are fromdrum 212 thereby lowering the outer end of section 195 until switch 216is actuated in a direction to de-energize the motor.

In a similar respect when the articulated boom is operated to swing thesection 195 to an acuate angle with section 190, the length of guy 210,while remaining unchanged will permit the outer end of section 195 todrop causing the pivotal connection between the boom sections to changeits relation and actuate switch 215. Ac-

tuating of this switch will energize motor 217 in a direction to turndrum 212 and take up on guy 21% thereby raising the end of section 195and reversing actuation of switch 215 so that the boom section 195remains level.

Referring to FIGURE 10, a modified trolley hoist jib for the tower isillustrated. In this figure, portions of the tower crane are showndiagrammatically where they essentially correspond in construction tothe structure described hereinabove with respect to the embodiment ofFIGURES 1 through 9. Thus the platform 101) mounting the hoist machineryand swingably supporting the distributing boom and also carrying thehopper correspond to the structures hereinabove described and thesedetails are not repeated on FIGURE 10.

The FIGURE 10 embodiment employs a tower 225, the lower portion of whichcan be constructed along the lines of tower 12 for purposes of mountingand elevating the tower and to slidably cooperate with the platform 190.The upper portion of tower 225 mounts two parallel trolley hoist jibs226 and 227. These jibs extend outwardly from the front of the tower andpass across the sides of the tower with the rear ends thereof overlyingthe hopper 135.

Each of the jibs 226 and 227 provides a tram rail extending therealongwith a trolley 228 engaged with the rail of jib 226 and a trolley 229engaged with the rail on jib 227. Trolley 228 suspends a lift hook 230and trolley 229 suspends a lift hook 231. The reeving of the cables withthe trolleys 228 and 229 to suspend the respective lift hooks 230 and231 may be similar to the cable reeving described hereinabove withreference to trolley 55 and lift hook 62. The hoisting cables will alsobe suitably guided by pulleys appropriately mounted on the tower to thehoist machinery on platform 1%. Drive means to shift the respectivetrolleys 228 and 229 details ofv construction of these features are notI shown since their characteristics will be well understood by referenceto the approaches described in connection with operationfo thehoistmeans on trolley hoist jib 35.

Ea'ch of the lift hooks 230 and 231 may be connected with a concretehoistingbucket 235. The buckets 235 may be of smaller capacity thanthebucket 80 mentioned hereinabovesince with two smaller buckets a volumeof concrete corresponding to that handled by the single buckettltlmay besupplied to hopper 135.

The provision of parallel trolley hoist jibs providing two independenthoisting means has certain advantages over asingular trolley "hoist jibconstruction. First, a .lower load'concentration at the outer .endsofthe jibs is possiblewhile supplying an. adequate volume of concrete ,tohopper 135 by using two smaller buckets. Further, bending movementsapplied to the tower 2 25may be minimized .by so operating the trolley22.8 and 229 that .the one is hoisting .a filled concrete bucket 235 .onits outer end while the other trolley is at the opposite end o f itsjib, discharging concrete from the bucket 235 carried thereby intohopper 135. This relationship of the trolleys is shown on FIGURE 10. l

The paralleljibs 226 and 227 are appropriately guyed to Ithe tower 225by guys 24,0 and 241. It will be readily recognized that as in the caseof jib 35 and its guying totower 12 the guys 240 and 241 will preferablybe provided with take-up winch means to facilitate .tensioning the guysand also to make for easier disassembly of the jibs from the tower. Inaddition to guys 94 for ithe tower 225 which are comparable to the towerguys described hereinbefore, the jibs 226 and 227 may be provided withguys 242 extending outwardly and downwardly from the outer ends of thesejibe. These guys 242 may also best be provided with suitable take-upmeans either at-their point of stationary connection or mounted on theto st r e- The procedures for assembling the tower crane at the buildingsite may be readily'followed by reference to the description ofstructure as set forth hereinabove. In such assembly operation, thelower portions of the tower 12 will be initially mounted on a suitablebase or foundation assuming that at the, outset no floors of thebuilding have been constructed. The platform 100 will be mounted aroundthe tower and the upper portion of the ,towercompleted by appropriatelybolting the sections together. At this point, the platform 100 will beresting near the base of the tower with the hoist machinery 70 availableto take part in further assembly of the components of the crane.

The jib 35 may then be assembled and moved into p sit on and the e s fth o le an t hook 62 completed including initial winding of cable r65onto Wi in dru The uy a any Cables .42 and 45 will be connected withthese cables Wound .onto the hand take-up winches 44 and 47,respectively. Thereafter, by appropriate manipulation of winches 44 and4 7, the jib 35 may be raised within portal opening 30 and pin 56inserted to connect the guy to the tower 12 whereupon the jib guyingwill be tensioned to stabilize it in its horizontal position on thetower. The tower 'guying 94 and 95=maynow be appropriately tensioned tosecurely stabilize the tower in a vertical position replacing anytemporary guying ,or other support which may have been employed toinitially hold the tower in a vertical position.

With the components assembled to this extent, the drive for effectingshifting of the trolley and the cable therefor may be hooked up.Thereafter, the lifting hook 62- c an be employed as needed to hoist andput in place other components of the crane and particularly thecomponents of the distributing boom which are swingably mounted from theplatform 100. The lift hook 62 may also assist in the hoisting andplacing of the auxiliary booms 110 their related hoist winches.

As an alternative to the assembly approachdescribed hereinabove one ofthe auxiliary booms ill) and its associated hoist Winches may be mountedon platform 100 and this boom, employed in placing the main hoistmachinery 7th on the platform ,llltl whereupon further hoistingoperations may be powered through the hoist machinery 70.

Reference may now be had to the operation of the tower crane in use.With the crane assembled, the platform ltltl must be elevated to disposethe distributing boom at an appropriate working elevation above thefloor to be poured. Elevation of the platform can be accomplished byengaging lifting hook 62 of the trolley hoist jib 35 with the platform16.0 and then operating hoist machinery 7llto raise the platform anddistributing boom lmounted on the platform. It will be appreciated thatengagement of hook 62 to effect this lifting can be by means of anappropriate lifting eye (not shown) on the platform or particularlywhere hopper 135 is mounted directly on the platform, the hook .62 maybe engaged with a part of the hopper 135.

Once elevated to .the desired height, .the platform liltl will besecured to the tower 1221s by means of placing the beam members 106beneath the platform resting on structural elements of tower 12.Thereafter, the lift hook 62 maybe disengagedfrom the platform placingtheequipment in condition for hoisting and distributing concrete inpouring the floor of the building being constructed.

In employing the apparatus to handle the concrete in pouring each floorof the building, the concrete bucket fill is lowered from trolley hoistjib 35 acrossthe face Wall of the building and charged with concretefrom suitable mixing apparatus (not shown). Hoist machinery "70 isthenoperated to-raise bucket dill ,and once sufficiently elevated,rotation of winding drum 88 is started to shift trolley and carry bucket84 through the portal opening 30 of tower 12 and dispose it above hopper35. Then the discharge valve of bucket '80 is opened to dump the bucketcontents into hopper 135.

This operation of the trolley hoist and bucket Stl may be automaticallycontrolled in accordance with an operating cycle wherein the hoisting ofbucket 80 is stopped at an upper limit of travel, the shifting oftrolley 55 is initiated shortly before bucket 80 has reached this upperlimit, the trolley shifting is stopped with the bucket 81') over hopper135 and thereupon the discharge valve of the bucket automatically openedto dump its contents into hopper 135. The cycle control of theseoperating steps may be effected by use of limit switches appropriatelypositioned on the tower crane as would be well recognized would causethe the starting and stopping of the winding drums, etc. to achieve thisdesired cycle.

With the hopper 135 supplied with concrete by the operations of hoistingand shifting bucket 86, the distributing boom 125 may come intooperation to carry the concrete outwardly from the tower fordistribution at desired points spaced radially and circumferentially ofa the tower in conjunction with pouring a building floor.

The motors 139 and 141 will drive the conveyors 133 and 140 to carry theconcrete from hopper 135 to the particular chute 14-2 or 143 to be fed.In manipulating distributing boom 125, motor 13tlmay be energized toswing theboom horizontally to the appropriate radial direction and motor172 operated to extend or retract thelength of the boom with eitherchute 142 or 14, 3 employed to accordingly guide and discharge theconcrete at the precise l cation desired during pouring.

Where the artculated distributing boom is used in place of thetelescoping type boom, the swinging of the boom as a whole will be 0tained byenergi-zing motor. 13llwhile changing the articulated relationbetween the boom sections will be achieved by driving actuating block299 out or in alongtrack 261 to pivot the sections relative to eachother through rod 199. In using the removable plow 130, it will beobvious from the prior description that it may be each building floormust be allow and thereafter proper concrete forms consructed to be usedin pouring the floor thereabove.

In elevating the tower, the platform 100 is first released from itsconnection with tower l2 and lowered onto the surface of the completedfloor below it. This operation thereby relieves a substantial portion ofthe weight of the tower crane from having to be elevated along with thetower 12, since the total weight of the hoist machinery, auxiliarybooms, distributing boom 125 and hopper 135 will be resting on thecompleted building floor while only the weight of the tower 12 andtrolley hoist jib 35 are elevated.

Beams 20 are positioned on a floor above the lower end of the tower l2and the cable 21 connected to these beams and to pulley block 23. Thelift hook 62, with the trolley 55 positioned directly above the verticalpassageway through the tower 12 is lowered and engaged with connector 27on the end of cable 25 in the manner as shown in FIGURE 6. Operation ofthe hoist machinery 7% is then effective through cable 25 and the tackleconnected therewith to raise the tower 12 While platform 1% remainsstationary. During this elevating of the tower the guys 94 and 95 aredisconnected, slaclred off or payed out. Once the tower 12 has beenelevated one or more floors by this operation, the beams 15 which wereremoved as the lifting operation started, are replaced ex tending acrossthe tower at the new elevated position and reconnected by pins 17 tosupport the tower at its new elevated position.

Hook 62 is then disengaged from connector 27 and reconnected with theplatform 160 to raise the platform on the now elevated tower 12 toposition it and the distributing boom 125 carried thereby in workingposition for pouring the next floor. Once appropriately raised, themembers 106 or other retaining means will be applied to retain theplatform at its elevated position on tower 12.

In disassembly of the tower crane after completion of the building, themain hoist machinery 7 9 again is called into service. Initially, thelift hook 62 controlled through machinery 70 may be employed to lift offthe distributing boom I25 and transport the parts thereof to a pointbeyond the face wall of the building where it may be lowered to theground. Also any other components may be lowered by use of the trolleyjib mounted lift hook 62. It can be desirable to retain one or both ofthe auxiliary booms 110 for use in final disassembly and lowering of thetower crane components.

When the trolley jib 35 has completed its function, the pin 36 isremoved and the jib 35 swung inwardly and lowered on guy cables 42 and45. The relation of these cables will permit swinging of the jib backonto the build ing where it may be easily disassembled and the partsthereof separately lowered to the ground as by use of the auxiliary boom110. With the platform 100 resting on the surface of the last completedfloor of the building, the sections of the tower 12 may be disassembledand removed to be lowered to the ground including those sec- "tionswhich in normal operation of the crane extend down through and belowplatform 100. Thereafter, the remaining portions of the crane may bedissasembled to the extent appropriate and these parts lowered to theground level.

It is to be understood that the forms and embodiments of this inventionherewith shown and described are to be taken as preferred examples ofthe same and that various changes in shape, size and arrangement of theparts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a tower crane for hoisting and distributing building materialssuch as concrete in conjunction with the construction of a building orother structure, the combination of a tower provided with means adjacentthe lower end thereof for supporting it within a vertical open shaft ofthe structure being constructed, elevating means associated with thelower end of said tower for raising said tower within the shaft asconstruction progresses, a generally horizontal hoist jib mounted onsaid tower and extending laterally primarily from one side of the frontof said tower to overlie an area beyond a face wall of the structure,said jib providing a tram rail extending therealong, a trolley engagedwith said rail to be shiftable along the jib and having hoist meansassociated therewith for hoisting building materials from the areabeyond the face wall of the structure, a material receiving hoppercarried by said tower on generally the opposite side of said tower fromthe primary lateral extent of said jib and at a level below said jib toreceive material elevated by said hoist means and shifted on said railto discharge into said hopper, a distributing boom carried on the saidopposite side of said tower and mounted to be swingable in a generallyhorizontal plane, said distributing boom including a conveyor having oneend disposed to receive material discharged from said hopper andextending outwardly from the tower along said distributing boom to carrythe material outwardly from the tower for distribution at desired pointsspaced radially and circumferentially of the tower in conjunction withconstructing the structure.

2. In a tower crane, the combination as recited in claim 1 wherein saidsupport means includes beam members resting on the supporting surfaceand said tower is pivotally connected to said beam members to precludeconcentrating loads adjacent one end of said beam members in the eventof lateral swaying of said tower.

3. In a tower crane, the combination as recited in claim 1 wherein saidhoist jib is connected by a pin to said tower, guys are connectedbetween said jib and said tower above said jib to maintain said jib in agenerally horizontal position, means associated with said guys fortightening said guys and for loosening the guys to lower the jib whensaid pin'is removed in disassembly of the crane, and stabilizing meansare provided for said tower including guy cables extending radiallyoutwardly and down wardly from the upper portion of said tower, said guycables being connectible to stationary points spaced from the verticalaxis of said tower, each of said guy cables having means associatedtherewith to tension said cables for stabilizing said tower and toplay-out cable length in conjunction with elevation of said tower.

4. In a tower crane, the combination as recited in claim 1 wherein saiddistributing boom is elongatable including telescopically interconnectedsections with each section having a conveyor thereon, the inner end ofthe inner section of said boom being disposed to receive materialdischarged from said hopper, and said sections having the conveyorsthereon disposed to transfer material from one section to the next outersection.

5. In a tower crane, the combination as recited in claim 1 wherein thereare a pair of hoist jibs mounted on said tower, each jib providing atram rail extending therealong, a trolley engaged with the rail on eachjib to be shiftable along the jib and having hoist means associatedtherewith, and said hopper is positioned to receive material elevated bythe two hoist means and shifted on the rails on said jibs to dischargeinto said hopper.

6. In a tower crane, the combination as recited in claim 1 wherein saidconveyor has a belt and a discharge plow is disposed intermediate theends of said conveyor for diverting material from said belt, said plowbeing positionable at selected positions along the length of saidconveyor and having a material directing chute for guiding the Imaterial diverted from the belt to the desired point in conconveyorsections with the inner end of the inner section disposed to receive'rriater'ialdischar'ged'frorn said hopper, a material directing chuteswingably mounted beneath the discharge end of the outermost conveyorsection and said section having .the conveyors thereon disposed totransfer material from one section to the next outer section -fordistribution at desired points spaced radially and circumferentially ofthe tower in conjunction with constructing the structure.

8. In a tower crane, the combination as recited in claim 3 wherein saidstabilizing means includes guy cables extending from the outer extendedend of said jib and guy cables extending from said tower outwardly anddownwardly in planes diverging from the axis of said jib.

9. In a tower crane, the combination as recited in claim 4 wherein theoutermost section of said boom has the conveyor thereon reversiblydriven, and said outermost section has a swingably mounted materialdirecting chute disposed beneath each discharge end of the'conveyorthereon.

10. In a tower crane, the combination as recited in claim 4 whereinthere are a pair of telescopically interconnected sections with theconveyor on the outer section being reversibly driven, and said outersection has a swingably mounted material directing chute mountablebeneath either discharge end of the conveyor thereon.

11. In a tower crane, the combination as recited in claim 7 whereinmeans are provided between said conveyor sections for controllingarticulation of said boom including an actuating rod connected to onesection and connected with operating means slidable longitudinally ofthe adjacent section whereby movements of said operating means willcause swinging of said one section relative to said adjacent section todifierent articulated positions as desired.

12. In a tower crane, the combination as recited in claim 7 whereinmeans are provided for controlling articulation of said boom andsuspension means for one conveyor section relative'to another includinga suspending cable connected to support said one conveyor section andconnected to reversibly driven drum means, and switch means mountedrelative to the pivotal connection between the conveyor sections, saidswitch means being connected to control said reversibly driven drummeans to take-up on said cable upon lowering of the outer end of saidone conveyor section below a predetermined level and play-out on saidcable upon raising of said outer end above a predetermined level.

13. In a tower crane for hoisting and distributing building materialssuch as concrete in conjunction with the construction of a building orother structure, the combination of a tower provided with means adjacentthe lower end thereof for supporting it within a vertical open shaft ofthe structure being constructed, elevating means associated with thelower end of said tower for raising said tower within the shaft asconstruction progresses, a material hoisting jib carried by said towerand extending generally horizontally laterally from said tower, hoistingmeans on said jib including a cable and load engaging means for hoistingbuilding materials from a point below said jib, a platform provided withan opening having guide means slidably receiving said tower, means forre leasibly retaining said platform at a selected position relative tothe length of said tower, hoist machinery mounted on said platform andincluding a cable drum for winding said cable of said hoisting means,said load engaging means being alternatively connectible to hoistbuilding material from a point below said jib and to operate saidelevating means for raising said tower within the building shaft, amaterial receiving hopper supported from said platform below said jib toreceive building material hoisted by said hoisting means, adistributingboom mounted on said platform to he swingable in a generally horizontalplane, said distributing boom including a conveyor having one enddisposed to receive material discharged from said hopper and extendingfrom the tower along said distributing boom to carry the materialoutwardly from the tower for distribution at desired points spacedradially and circumferentially of the tower in conjunction withconstructing the structure.

14. In a tower'cranefor hoisting and'distributirig building materialssuch as concrete in conjunction with the construction of a building orother structure the combination of a tower provided with means adjacentthe lower end thereof for supporting it within a vertical open shaft ofthe structure being constructed, elevating means associated with thelower end of said tower for raising said tower within the shaft asconstruction progresses, a generally horizontal hoist jib carried bysaid tower and extending generally horizontally laterally from saidtower, said jib providing a tram rail extending therealong, a trolleyengaged with said rail to be shiftable along the jib and having a hoistcable suspending load engaging means from sm'd trolley for hoistingbuilding materials from a point beneath said jib, a platform providedwith an opening having guid means slidably receiving said tower, meansfor releasibly retaining said platform at a selected position relativeto the length of said tower, hoist machinery mounted on said platformand including a cable drum for winding in said cable to raise said loadengaging means, said load engaging means being alternatively connectibleto hoist building material from a point below said jib and to operatesaid elevating means for raising said tower within the building shaft, amaterial receiving hopper supported from said platform below said jib toreceive building material hoisted by said load engaging means, adistributing boom mounted on said platform to be swingable in agenerally horizontal plane, said distributing boom including a conveyorhaving one end disposed to receive material discharged from said hopperand extending outwardly from the tower along said distributing boom tocarry the material outwardly from the tower for distribution at desiredpoints spaced radially and circumferentially of the tower in conjunctionwith constructing the structure.

15. In a tower crane for hoisting and distributing building materialssuch as concrete in conjunction with the construction of a building orother structure, the combination of a skeleton tower defining anessentially open passageway longitudinally therethrough, means adjacentthe lower end of said tower for supporting it within a vertical openshaft of the structure being constructed, elevating means engageablebetween the tower and previously constructed portions of the structurefor raising said tower within the shaft as construction progresses, aportal opening in the upper portion of said tower, a hoist jib mountedon said tower to extend horizontally through said portal opening andlaterally from said tower, said jib providing a tram rail extendingtherealong and across said passageway, a trolley engaged with said railto be shiftable along the jib, a hoist cable suspending load engagingmeans from said trolley, said load engaging means being alternativelyconnectible to hoist building materials from a point below said jib andto operate said elevating means for raising said tower within thebuilding shaft, said passageway beneath said jib rail permittinglowering of building materials through said tower to effect closing ofthe open shaft beneath the elevated position of said tower, a materialreceiving hopper carried by said tower disposed to one side of said openpassageway and at a level below said jib to receive material elevated bysaid hoist means and shifted on said rail to discharge into said hopper,a distributing boom carried by said tower and mounted to be swingable ina generally horizontal plane, said distributing boom including aconveyor having one end disposed to receive material discharged from 19said hopper and extending outwardly from the tower along saiddistributing boom to carry the material from the tower for distributionat desired points spaced radially and circumferentially of the tower inconjunction with constructing the structure.

16. In a tower crane, the combination as recited in claim 15 whereinsaid elevating means includes pulley means mounted adjacent the lowerend of said tower, cable means engaged with said pulley means and havingmeans at the ends thereof for engagement with a portion of the structureabove the lower end of said tower, pulley block means engaged with saidcable means within said tower passageway, and block and tackle connectedbetween said pulley block means and said tower, said load engaging meansbeing connectible to the cable'of said block and tackle to efiectelevation of said tower through tension on said hoist cable of saidtrolley.

References (lite din the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. IN A TOWER CRANE FOR HOISTING AND DISTRIBUTING BUILDING MATERIALSSUCH AS CONCRETE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BUILDING OROTHER STRUCTURE, THE COMBINATION OF A TOWER PROVIDED WITH MEANS ADJACENTTHE LOWER END THEREOF FOR SUPPORTING IT WITHIN A VERTICAL OPEN SHAFT OFTHE STRUCTURE BEING CONSTRUCTED, ELEVATING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THELOWER END OF SAID TOWER FOR RAISING SAID TOWER WITHIN THE SHAFT ASCONSTRUCTION PROGRESSES, A GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY HOIST JIB MOUNTED ONSAID TOWER AND EXTENDING LATERALLY PRIMARILY FROM ONE SIDE OF THE FRONTOF SAID TOWER TO OVERLIE AN AREA BEYOND A FACE WALL OF THE STRUCTURE,SAID JIB PROVIDING A TRAM RAIL EXTENDING THEREALONG, A TROLLEY ENGAGEDWITH SAID RAIL TO BE SHIFTABLE ALONG THE JIB AND HAVING HOIST MEANSASSOCIATED THEREWITH FOR HOISTING BUILDING MATERIALS FROM THE AREABEYOND THE FACE WALL OF THE STRUCTURE, A MATERIAL RECEIVING HOPPERCARRIED BY SAID TOWER ON GENERALLY THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID TOWER FROMTHE PRIMARY LATERAL EXTENT OF SAID JIB AND AT A LEVEL BELOW SAID JIB TORECEIVE MATERIAL ELEVATED BY SAID HOIST MEANS AND SHIFTED ON SAID RAILTO DISCHARGE INTO SAID HOPPER, A DISTRIBUTING BOOM CARRIED ON THE SAIDOPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID TOWER AND MOUNTED TO BE SWINGABLE IN A GENERALLYHORIZONTAL PLANE, SAID DISTRIBUTING BOOM INCLUDING A CONVEYOR HAVING ONEEND DISPOSED TO RECEIVE MATERIAL DISCHARGED FROM SAID HOPPER ANDEXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE TOWER ALONG SAID DISTRIBUTING BOOM TO CARRYTHE MATERIAL OUTWARDLY FROM THE TOWER FOR DISTRIBUTION AT DESIRED POINTSSPACED RADIALLY AND CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF THE TOWER IN CONJUNCTION WITHCONSTRUCTION THE STRUCTURE.